Committed to Alternatives to Animal Testing

Toxicologist Horst Spielmann of Freie Universität Is New State Animal Welfare Officer

№ 392/2012 from Dec 21, 2012

Horst Spielmann, a professor at the Institute of Pharmacy at Freie Universität Berlin, is the new animal welfare officer in the State of Berlin. A highly regarded toxicologist, Spielmann has been working for more than 20 years to reduce the use of animal testing. The appointment of Spielmann by Berlin’s Justice and Consumer Affairs Senator Thomas Heilmann met with great approval. In particular, animal welfare groups praised his extraordinary efforts in finding alternatives to animal testing that is done at Freie Universität by scientists in veterinary medicine and human medicine. The honorary position of animal welfare officer is politically independent.

Professor Horst Spielmann is an adjunct professor of regulatory toxicology in the Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, at Freie Universität Berlin. For more than 20 years he has been dedicated to finding alternatives to animal testing in medical research. He led several studies that were commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Research and the European Commission. He has received several international awards for his pioneering work.